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October 09, 2013

van Havre-Daingerfield House, 608 Cameron

In the latest on our look at deserving candidates for
an historical marker, we turn out attention to 608 Cameron Street.

As a seaport city, Alexandria has heard all kinds of
language. We’re
guessing Flemish is certainly not in the top five, but when members of a
northern Belgian family arrived in the latter stages of the 18th
century, a touch of that language and culture seeped into the town.

In the summer of 1794, the Stier family watched nervously
as the Army of Revolutionary France (Flanders Campaign) crept closer to their
two homes in Antwerp. They
fled to America, leaving behind a life of aristocracy and privilege.

The family consisted of Baron Henri Joseph Stier
(1743-1821), a wealthy financier and art collector, his wife Marie (1748-1804),
their daughter Isabella and her husband Jean Michael (Baron) van Havre, their
son Charles and his wife Mimi (sister of Jean Michael), and their 16-year-old daughter
Rosalie.

After a brief stay in Philadelphia, the Stier’s and
van Havre’s moved to Annapolis.
The Stier’s brought with them “the finest collection of paintings that
ever crossed the Atlantic” (Margaret Law Callcott, “Mistress of
Riversdale.”) Henri was a direct descendant of Peter
Paul Rubens (1577-1640), a prolific painter who fancied the Baroque style.

Henri, Marie and Rosalie stayed in Annapolis, living
at one point in the “Paca House.”
The appointment seemed to meet their early needs, but Henri soon stated,
“Annapolis was declining.” After the turn of the century he looked
towards the infant Federal City and began plans for building a plantation manor
two miles north of Bladensburg.
They would name it “Riversdale.” When Henri
needed a reliable carpenter and joiner, he reached into Alexandria and hired
Robert G. Lanphier. As the
plans unfolded, the Stiers rented “Bostwick.”

Meanwhile, Charles and Mimi, and Isabelle and Jean
Michael moved to Alexandria.
Charles had tried Baltimore but better liked Alexandria’s “buildings and
industry.”

In 1798, Jean Michael bought 608 Cameron when it was
new. Charles bought the rest of the quarter block from 608 to the
southeast corner of Cameron and N. Washington streets. Evidence, however, indicates he
did not live there. In her book, Cox
says Charles was living (rented) at 208 N. Fairfax.

The van Havre’s timing was excellent. Alexandria was experiencing what Smith
and Miller (“A Seaport Saga”) call the city’s “Golden Epoch.” The streets were muddy but taverns were
plentiful and luxury could be found. The family members surely danced at Gadsby’s City
Tavern just a few blocks away from their home.

In the summer of 1700, nobility crossed paths with
democracy at Mount Vernon. On June 20, the family dined with George
and Martha Washington. What
a night it must have been.
Sitting at the table were Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice of the United
States, William Hodgson and his wife Portia Lee, Ludwell Lee and his wife
Elizabeth, Hannah Lee, Henri and Marie, Charles and Mimi, Jean Michael and
Isabelle, and George Calvert and his bride Rosalie Eugenia Stier.

Calvert, whose grandfather was Charles Calvert 5th
Baron of Baltimore, and Rosalie, were newlyweds. They spent two nights at Mount Vernon. The Calvert family
was familiar to the Washington’s. George’s
sister Eleanor had married John Parke Custis, who passed away in 1781.

In June 1803, all of the Stier’s returned to their
homeland except for Rosalie.
She and George took over the construction of Riversdale, a five part,
two-story built in the late Georgian style.

Missing them dearly, Rosalie penned over two hundred
letters to her family back in Belgium.
Dr. Alfons Bousse, an archivist in Belgium, discovered the letters in
the 1970s. Callcott used them to write “Mistress of
Riversdale, The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert.” The author notes these letters
“provided an uncommonly readable account of America’s early history.”

Brief mentions of Alexandria pepper her writings. In a letter to Charles in late
December, Rosalie writes:

Do
you remember how gay we were at this same season when you were here? Everything recalls the time we had
together – our horseback rides, our stay in your pretty home in Alexandria…

Rosalie and George raised their family at Riversdale,
which was recently restored to its former glory. Sadly, Rosalie died in 1821 at the age of 42. Equally sad was the mortality rate
for children in those days. Four
of their nine children did not live to maturity.

Callcott’s book also provides a peeks into the
family’s time in Alexandria.
Henri and Charles Jean befriended William Herbert and invested in his
bank. Charles became a
merchant investor.

608 Cameron, described by Bailey as “a comfortable
townhouse of great dignity with subtle properties, refined details and special
features,” was next owned by Captain Bathurst Daingerfield. Born in Spotsylvania County in
1767, he moved to Alexandria in 1800. Henry, one of three sons, became a well-known sea
captain and real-estate magnate. Harold
W. Hurst described him as a “tireless promoter of other industries and
railroads which were responsible for the economic boom” in Alexandria in the
1850s. John made a name for
himself in shipping and helped fund the replacement of the original Latrobe
steeple at City Hall. The
Daingerfield name became legendary in business circles.

608 Cameron has long been overshadowed by two homes
across the street. 607 belonged to
Thomas, Ninth Lord Fairfax and his son Orlando. Two doors down Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee lived there for a while.

Nevertheless, as we have seen, this handsome brick
dwelling stands proud and tall, a history maker in its own right.